According to Trump the U.S. film industry is in bigly trouble. Because of he claims Gavin Newsome and other nonsensical portions of thoughts ratting around in his head. Trump as you know is the world’s leading expert on everything including entertainment including and especially film and TV production. Personally I think it’s silly to accept a dude who PAINTS HIS FACE ORANGE as an expert on anything, much less the entertainment industry including and especially movies and TV but what do I know? Trump however says there’s a ‘Yuge’ problem and the solution is of course as with everything else these days – tariffs.
Remember when conservatives hated Hollywood? Calls for boycotts of the movie industry came up regularly. The whole U.S. film industry was polluted by ‘liberals’ and hostile to conservative actors they said. And that was before WOKE became a rallying cry. As for Trump, well he’s had a complicated relationship with Hollywood and the entertainment history. It was the (to me inexplicable) rise in the popularity of so-called ‘Reality TV’ that propelled Trump into ‘stardom.’
Not that Trump didn’t love getting cameos in movies even before that but Mark Burnett had an idea of making Trump look like a hugely powerful business tycoon and damn if The Apprentice didn’t take off! Trump, who was actually a regular failure at business was bestowed an IMAGE very much at odds with reality and he rode it all the way to the White House, while at the same time decrying ‘liberal Hollywood.’ Given that it’s startling that Trump’s decided Hollywood and U.S. film production need to be ‘rescued’, and to that end he’s slapping one of his tariffs on foreign movies.
It’s kind of funny if you want to think in a certain way. Imagine Pete Hegseth deciding to curry favor with Trump and set up meetings where instead of discussing policy or Pete’s scandals he instead says “Let’s not waste time on boring stuff. Let’s watch a REAL MAN movie instead!” Ole Pete has quite the collection of DVDs in his briefcase. Patton, and The Longest Day for example to reinforce Trumpty’s latest ‘Celebrate Victory’ theme. Or how about (since Trump fancies himself as one) they watch Gladiator? Trump imagining himself as Maximus would be a hoot. (Trumpius? I think ‘Minimus’ sure as hell fits) Hey, maybe they could watch some good ole Clint Eastwood classics. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, For A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars more maybe. REAL MAN stuff. Guess what? Every single one of these was made overseas and therefore subject to the new 100% tariff Trump says non-U.S. made movies will have to pay!
I don’t think Trumpty has thought this new ‘idea’ through. In fact it could turn out fantastically complicated. What about movies only partially shot overseas? Or include stock footage of foreign locations with actors inserted with CGI or other technology. Or the screenplay was written by a foreigner or a foreigner was Director? What if much of the funding was from overseas investors? Or the musical score was from overseas? Oh those pesky details.
You think the stuff going on with cars and trucks is complicated? That’s child’s play compared to the complexity of producing and distributing a freaking movie. However, various outlets are reporting Trumpty has taken time out from PAINTING HIS FACE ORANGE to make sure movies shown here are by golly made here! According to Hollywood Reporter what a few days ago was a threat is now a reality according to a post Trumpty put up on Truth Social:
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!
“Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
Well THAT should fix things. Doubling the price of a movie ticket will I’m sure go over REALLY well! Lots of great movies have been made right here in the U.S. including some that might surprise you. On the theme in the opening paragraph I mentioned even some war movies. Uncommon Valor which starred Gene Hackman is one I always assumed was, like Apocalypse Now filmed on location overseas. Turns out it was made in Hawaii! Casablanca has a true, gritty made overseas feel to it but it was made right here in the U.S. Still, quite a few beloved movies including Academy Award winner, Chariots of Fire for example were made outside the U.S. Or the Harry Potter movies, which I assume given creator J.K. Rowling’s stance on Trans people Trumpty is ok with.
I also took note of Trump’s use of “National Security” in his screed. I find it interesting because movie production in foreign countries actually opens up avenues of intelligence gathering. Remember the movie Argo? Yes, it took liberties with the facts and actual story. Since I was familiar with what had actually taken place I was disappointed because telling the story “straight” would have made for a gripping and equally entertaining movie. However my point is that a) more so than is often the case the ‘based on a true story’ aspect is more truthful than is usually the case, and b) the movie revealed quite a bit the CIA would have preferred not become public. The characters played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman were reality based and they were sometime assets! It could actually be argued that National Security is enhanced by making movies overseas!
The thing is, I don’t believe for a second Trump gives two sh*ts about Hollywood and all the movie and TV production there. However it is the focal point. New York which Trump called home most of his life (until he got all butt-hurt about voters there rejecting him so soundly) is second. Over time however a startling amount of U.S. film production has shifted from to other places. Georgia has become a major production hub and North Carolina too. Hmmm. Could it be Trump is trying to ramp up movie production in some states where he and other GOPers find themselves in tough political fights? Considered in that light, it makes sense Trump would quickly agree to a suggestion from his staff to slap tariffs on foreign movies!
Well, except for a couple of years after relocating to NC since the late 2000s I stopped going to movie theaters. Ticket prices seemed excessive. If I didn’t have reason to wear a jacket or coat there was no way to sneak in a bottle or two of a soft drink or a snack. A half-hour or more of ‘trailers’ which we called previews when I was growing up. And eardrum splitting sound! Back in the day I attended my share of rock concerts and sometimes had floor seating and it wasn’t that freaking loud!
Still, there are some movies that it would be nice to see on a giant movie theater screen at least once. But it’s already too damned expensive and now Trump is going to double the cost for an awful lot of great movies. Will he try to ‘brand’ his new brain child fart? Make Movies In America Again – MMIAA. I’d love to hear him try to say it like he does MAGA!
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He has rosacea, so painting his face orange covers up his splotchy skin.
I get that. But that ugly-ass awful orange color? I’m sure his stylist could come up with something less ‘WTF?’
I believe HE is his makeup stylist. I don’t believe any professional would apply so hideous a color so poorly – his ears and neck showing pasty white, a band of his near-death pallor around his face — THIS HAS TO BE THE ANSWER…..
I have a semi-formed thought that putting a tariff on a movie might be really hard to do. Are we to believe that all copies of a movie enter the US through a customs process? Like 3,000 copies of the actual film in a shipping container? More likely it’s a digital master sent over the internet. So do the distributors pay the tariff when they receive it, or when they dispatch copies to the theaters? Or do the theaters pay the tariff when they collect ticket prices? And, of course, the above-mentioned percent of content issues. Maybe the investors pay the tariff when they put money into the pot? If it bombs, can they get a refund? Where does $TRUMP get it’s cut of the action? Gosh, who’d have ever thunk such a brilliant idea might run into obstacles in implementation?
Yes.
In other words, at what point do ‘goods’ cross a border and can be held by a Customs organization until a tariff is paid?
There isn’t one.
It is just like trying to tariff Google or You-Tube or NetFlix.
He could put a tax om movie tickets, but he’s quite clearly said he wants to help the movie industry, and most income for movies now isn’t actual box office,
It’s just another of his brain-farts.
Another half thought idea from a half-wit.
DVDs? How about streaming services and pay per view. I make an effort NOT to rent movies on demand on my cable DVR because it can add up to more than I can afford really fast in a given month. Best to just wait. But doubling the cost won’t go over well regardless of the format for people who want to rent a movie online any more than doubling the cost of a ticket at the theater.
DVDs can be made anywhere, it’s the content on them that costs the money and can be charged for. Film isn’t film any more, it’s digital, it’s sent over the internet. And if it is in some form of hardware, it’s not worth much as it’s so easy to replace. All the work Weta workshop does in NZ for movies like Avatar or the Hobbit while being made is sent to and from Hollywood digitally, electronically. No DVDs or hard drives are sent back and forth. There are no goods to tariff. How do you charge a tariff on ‘pay to view’?
Again.
There are no goods to tariff or tax. There is nothing that can be with-held from ‘collecting at the port’ until tariffs or duties or taxes are paid.
I saw a headline claiming HWPHFO (He Who Paints His Face Orange) may have gotten that idea from Jon Voigt (‘Nuf said).